Happy Easter!

Week recap

Monday
Sunny run, studio, I finished the script for our midsummer night’s dream performance, worked on costume, made chocolate chip cookies which were very successful.

Tuesday
Double beekeeping (9-12, 2-5) Dalibor wore a “Time is Honey” t-shirt. In the second session we hollowed out egg shells and used bee’s wax to draw designs on them, then painted over it in bright colors and peeled off the wax. These painted Easter eggs are a big Czech tradition. (my eggs have been hidden on my desk, as my poor attempts would probably insult this tradition more than celebrate it)

Wednesday
Studio, then visited the space where we will put on our performance/fashion show. It looks really cool and has some old Greek statues in it (very appropriate for the play.) I walked around old town square after that, (in the bright warm sunshine!!) and perused some of the shops they have set up there. I finished my costume later on and made some more cookies.

Thursday
Studio, then Fashion History where we studied 1900-1950. I spent most of the day making a dress (that actually turned out really well!) out of some leftover material I had. When I got back to the penzion, I decided I could go for a beer. I drank about ¾ of the bottle then passed out on my bed… in all my clothes (this was about 10pm mind you, and yes I am aware of how pathetic that is) I woke up about an hour later a little bewildered and decided since everyone else was going out (and I was clearly not in the condition to do so) that I would sew some pockets on my dress. Good decision, they look pretty cute.

Friday
Zoo Praha! Awoken to another gorgeous sunny 67 degree day in Prague, we continued with our plans to visit the city zoo. After a metro ride and a bus ride packed with mini zoo-goers in strollers, (we made friends with a few leg pokers) we got to the zoo around 10:15. We saw the usual boring bird exhibits, lots of goat/yak creatures, and lots of deer/elks. We saw the lions, tigers, hippos, flamingos etc. But the highlights for me were definitely the adorable sea otters splashing around, the pokey elephants, and the GIRAFFES! They were far way from everything else but it was so peaceful to watch them roam around in their big field, occasionally creeping close to us. Down inside the building there, they had more giraffes that were cooped up inside a glass pen. It was really cool to see them so close up but it made me sad because there were five of them all penned up in this small circular room, with barely anywhere to move. Hopefully they don’t leave them in there too long. There was a baby in there that was adorable, and in the pen over there was a huge giraffe laying down that we were pretty sure was Preggers. They were all so pretty and majestic, I could have sat and watched them all day. Another highlight was watching a brigade of long-tailed moneys prowl over to a gathering of ducks and chase them off their turf. They were very sneaky and funny. We also saw a polar bear who may have lost his mind. He was pacing back and forth at the top of his exhibit and kept banging on a steel door there. I thought he was just waiting for food, but this went on for several hours, because we kept passing it. So either someone forgot to feed him or the poor thing just lost it. I sort of forget how depressing zoo’s can be. It was still a nice day outside with nature though.

We left around 3:30 and Jessica Eleanor and I headed to Mala Strana to check our Petrin Hill. We began our hike up the cobblestones, and quickly realized that this hill was less hill, more mountain, so we stopped at a little market for some sustenance. We stopped on a little grassy knoll to munch on our grapes and Tostitos, met hairy dog with a butterfly clip on its head, then continued our trek upwards. We tackled a lot of steps on our way up, but the view of the city was so beautiful as we went that I thought it was more than worth it (plus I really enjoyed the exercise.) We made it to the top, (hooray!) and were greeted with a bustling little green of activities. We ended up right under the observation tower, which was modeled after the Eiffel tower in Paris (though only ¼ it’s height). To our right was a beer garden, to the left was the Strahov Monastery, the Church of St. Lawrence and a Mirror maze. We snapped a few pictures of everything then had a go at the mirror maze. Turns out, the maze part was pretty easy, but it was still cool to walk around and take pictures with all the mirrors. We saw a historic painting in the next room then got to the fun house mirrors. We probably spent the most time here, as we found the simple distortions of our bodies immensely amusing. Snapped some funny pictures there, then walked through an arch in what we think was the Hunger Wall, to the other side of the hill. There was a nice green lawn here, ideal for cart-wheeling (which I quickly learned was not even a little bit feasible in the dress I was wearing, Eleanor unfortunately has evidence) We ran into Terry and Blakely here (apparently my incidental flashing alerted them to our presence) and told them to go do the mirror maze. Jess, Eleanor and I sat and played “Lime” in the grass for a little while, then moved along. We found where the rose garden would be, if there had been roses, and took silly pictures under a tree blooming with pretty white flowers. We copped a few flowers from the tree and the many forsythia bushes for our hair, then made our way down the hill via The Funicular Tram (which we failed to notice on our way up.) we hopped a city tram home after that and got some Gelato at the tram stop. A wonderful day in Prague altogether, but then any day that ends in ice cream is hard to beat.

After a much needed shower and nap, we did a little boozing and headed to a music bar (club) that Ben picked out called Futurum. We had some minor trouble finding it, but the fact that it was 80’s night quickly made up for this. I arrived home to chirping birds at 3:30 am. Tough day to beat.

Saturday
Woke up and began making plans for dinner on the River. After sifting though several bank breaking restaurants. I made a reservation at Hergatova Cihelna. After that I set out on a lone adventure through Mala Strana (Little Quarter) which has become one of my favorite areas of Prague. I wondered a bit and perused a few shops then walked right through my destination of Kampa Island without realizing it. I checked out another Island called Streleky Ostrov which had a great few of the Charles bridge, then headed back to Kampa Park for a nap in the sun. It was nice to lay in the sun for a little while and just people watch. There was a little kid who rolled around in circles on the ground, yelling in Czech for about 15 minutes who I found pretty entertaining. After a “poke check” of my skin returned positive for sun exposure I made my way back to the metro. I got off a mustek for a brief flip flop hunt, that ended unsuccessfully, then went back to the penzion to shower and spiff up for dinner.
Our restaurant was in Mala Strana as well, right next to the Franz Kafka museum, and the infamous peeing statue/fountain outside of it. (apparently you can send a text message to some number and the statue will pee/spell out your message in the water…) anyways we were seated on the terrace, as requested, and the view was phenomenal, the lights shining off the river and the Charles bridges ½ a mile away. Sighhh. The menu was a little expensive, but nothing compared to the other places we looked out, and with the wonderful atmosphere it was worth it. We had a candlelit dinner, with snuggly blankets provided, though they were hardly needed; it was a gorgeous night. Our waitress was super nice and the food and wine was delicious. I had red wine with Pasta Amatriciana. It was a great night. We ventured across the Charles bridge after dinner to cream and dream, a gelato place, then home to the penzion. Terry and I sat out on the penzion balcony for a long time. The lights of the city below were so pretty and there was a full yellow moon. The air was also just so nice I didn’t want to go inside…But I did eventually and I passed out in my clothes on my bed again. (to be fair, I had several glasses of wine at dinner and a full day in the sun, but yes its still pretty pathetic) I woke up at 1am, bewildered again, brushed my teeth, changed into pj’s and went back to sleep. Another great day enjoying Prague :)

Lauren